A/N: I'm really sorry this chapter is so late. I don't know what happened, I kept getting distracted away from the chapter. I'm really trying to finish this story and I don't mean to always keep you guys waiting long. I hope you all like it. :)

Chapter Nineteen

Sam peered out her bedroom door, searching to see if the coast was clear. Jen had left a few hours ago and soon after that, the police had called saying they knew where Cody was. Her father and Brynna had left to go with them, leaving her with Gram and her mother. She figured this was a good time to sneak to the Reno police department to see Jake. Sam needed to see him, it was her fault he was in police custody.

The house was silent and still. There were no sounds of movement coming from the kitchen and Sam hoped she would get away without being seen. She crept down the hallway into the kitchen, it was empty. Breathing a huge sigh of relief, Sam crossed to the front door and slipped on her sneakers. Sam thought she was home free until she heard footsteps approach the kitchen. She froze.

"Sam! It's so good to see you up and about," Louise said, setting an empty mug down on the counter. "I was just going to ask if you wanted anything."

"I'm good," Sam replied, putting a hand on the doorknob.

"Were you going to see Ace?" Louise asked her. "I'll go with you. Anything to get out of this house."

Sam didn't say anything as they went outside and started walking to the barn corral. Ace was scratching his mane on the fence rail when they approached, but stopped when he saw them. He nickered to Sam and put his head over the fence. The sound sent a flutter through her chest and she couldn't help but smile. Sam went over to the gelding and took his muzzle in her hands, kissing it.

"I missed you, boy," Sam murmured. Ace blew in his face and snuffled her hair.

"He's a nice horse," Louise complimented, patting Ace's neck.

"Dad picked him out for me," Sam said quietly. She rubbed the gelding's muzzle and looked up at her mother.

"You've grown up beautifully, Sam," Louise told her daughter and then her eyes started to mist over with tears. "I'm sorry I wasn't there for you."

Sam shook her head defiantly, tears spilling over her cheeks. "Mom, no, it's not your fault." she replied.

Seeing her daughter's tears, Louise wrapped her arms around her. "I didn't mean to make you cry." she consoled. "I'm here now, everything's going to be okay"

"No, it's not okay!" Sam cried. "It's never going to be okay again!"

Louise pulled back to look at her daughter. "Sam, what are you talking about?"

Sam hiccuped and wiped the tears from her face. "Caleb raped me." she confessed. Louise gasped and enveloped Sam in her arms again, holding her tight against herself. Sam buried her face in her mother's shoulder, breathing in her comforting scent of wildflowers. Through her tears, Sam thought she heard her mother murmur something like my baby.

Finally, Sam pulled back, her eyes dry of tears. "Mom, can you take me to see Jake?" she asked, and before her mother could say anything, she rushed on. "I know he's in jail and it's my fault he's there. But, mom, I need to see him. Jake was the one who found me and he was there for me after Caleb... you know. I need to be there for him, please."

Louise stared at her for so long that Sam was afraid she'd drag her back inside and call the hospital. But then, Louise put her hands on her shoulders and looked her in the eye. "Sam, what Caleb did to you does not reflect who you are. You are a strong, confident, and caring, young woman. Most importantly, you are my daughter and I know you can get through this."

Sam looked down at the ground, shame creeping along her features. She felt like she'd lost the girl her mother was describing and instead, there was this strange, scared and fragile girl in her place. Sam felt her mother put her hand under her chin and lifted it until her eyes met her mother's.

"I love you, Sam, nothing is ever going to change that." Louise told her daughter, and then she added, "Let's go see Jake."

/X/

Brynna stared out the window of the airplane, her hands clasped together in her lap. They were en route to San Francisco, where Sylvie Roberts was staying with her husband and 'son'. The police hadn't talked to her yet, but they had talked to her husband, Corey Roberts. He had confirmed that they knew Caleb, who had set them up with a private adoption for a baby boy. Corey had been cooperative while answering the police's questions and had seemed generally shocked to learn that Cody had been kidnapped. He had hesitantly given them his address to his apartment, saying they'll be there when the police arrived.

Sheriff Ballard had insisted Brynna and Wyatt go, along with two other police officers. Of course, they hadn't argued, nothing was going to stop Brynna from getting her son back. The sheriff had called ahead to the San Francisco police department, explaining the situation and requested backup. He was quick to reassure them that it was just a precaution and he wasn't expecting any trouble. That Corey and Sylvie seemed like nice, honest people, who were just wrongly taken advantaged of. Brynna had tried to believe him, but she wouldn't feel better until her son was in her arms.

Brynna jumped a little bit when Wyatt took her hand and squeezed it. "We're going to get our son back," he told her.

She nodded and tried to smile at him, but it probably came out like more of a grimace. The sick feeling in the pit of her stomach wasn't going away, telling her things weren't going to be that easy.

/X/

Sam stepped inside the gray, rectangular room. There was a long, metal table across the center of the room, with a glass partition dividing the room in half. The other side looked exactly the same as this side, but empty.

"Have a seat," the police officer behind Sam told her. "Another officer is bringing him up now. Use the phone to communicate. You'll have a half hour."

Sam walked toward the chairs that sat in front of the table as the police officer left the room, closing the door behind him. A second later, the door on the other side opened and two people walked in. One was a police officer and the other was limping and wore a navy-blue jumpsuit and his blue-black hair hung loose around his face. Jake.

He froze in his tracks when he saw Sam on the opposite side of the glass. The guard pushed him forward and Jake stumbled into the chair facing Sam. Sam stared at Jake while the guard uncuffed one of Jake's hands and hooked the other end of the handcuff to the metal ring on the table. The guard said something to Jake, motioning toward the phone. He glanced once at Sam and then stalked to the door.

Slowly, Sam picked up the receiver and put it to her ear. Jake did the same. "Sam, what are you doing here?" came his deep, familiar voice.

Sam opened her mouth and then closed it when no words came out. She tried again. "I- I wanted to see you," she started lamely. "Nobody would tell me where you were or even if you were okay. I was worried."

"You shouldn't be," Jake said, shifting in his seat. "You shouldn't be here either."

"But I needed to see you," Sam protested, not liking the walls he was building around himself. "I mean, it's my fault your in here. If I had just fought harder, then you wouldn't have had to-"

"No!" Jake interrupted, almost shouting. "Don't say that, don't even think it. What Caleb did to you was not your fault. You did nothing wrong."

"Exactly," Sam hissed, leaning forward. She felt a little self-satisfaction when Jake reacted the way she thought he would. "Caleb raped me. He raped me. I was the victim, not you. Stop sulking and start fighting these charges. Caleb already took away so much from us, let's not give him anymore of our time together."

"But I couldn't protect you," Jake said quietly. "I failed you."

"No, you haven't, not unless you start fighting these charges," Sam told him gently. "If it weren't you, I would still be in that hotel room, subjected to Caleb's whims. You saved me, you're a hero. You should be treated like one, not like some shackled prisoner."

"That's not how the police see it," Jake muttered into the receiver. "I'm a cold-blooded murderer to them."

"That's why I'm going to get on that stand and tell the judge exactly what happened in that hotel room." Sam was surprised when the words came out of her mouth; she hadn't even thought of that idea.

"Sam, I couldn't ask you to do that. No," Jake said. Sam could see that he didn't want her to have to stand up and tell a whole courthouse full of people that Caleb raped her. But it was her choice to make, not his.

"I wasn't asking your permission," Sam replied, her stubbornness setting in. "I'm doing it. You saved me, now it's my turn to save you."

Jake grew very serious like he did when he corrected a disobedient colt. "Sam, just leave it alone," he warned her. "I knew exactly what would happen to me when I picked up that gun. I chose to kill."

"No-" Sam shook her head, but before she could say anything else, Jake slammed the phone down. She stared at him and placed her palm on the glass separating them, begging him not to shut down on her. Jake shook his head and pulled his gaze away from hers. He wouldn't look at her at all while the guard unhooked him and led him from the room. Sam lowered her hand slowly and put down the phone, her heart wrenching. Jake blamed himself for the rape.

"Miss?"

Sam looked up at the guard, who was holding the door open. She stood up, determinedly. She would not let Jake tear himself up over something he had no control over. Sam was going to testify at the trial, whether Jake liked it or not.

/X/

The white oak door stood in front of them with its' brass knocker and the number eighteen. Wyatt and Brynna stood in the hallway with four officers from the Dalton and San Francisco police departments. Cody was a mere few feet away inside that apartment. Brynna almost couldn't believe it. They were actually going to get their son back.

One of the San Francisco officers knocked on the door and a minute later it opened. A young man in his early twenties with shaggy blonde hair and green eyes stood in the doorway.

"Corey Roberts?" the officer asked.

The young man nodded, "That's me." Corey said. He gestured toward Wyatt and Brynna. "Are they Cody's parents?"

Brynna stepped forward, but Wyatt stopped her with a hand on her arm. "We are," he said. "Where's our son?"

"Why don't you come in," Corey said instead, stepping aside and allowing them to come in. Everybody filed into the apartment and looked at Corey expectantly.

"Where's my son?" Brynna asked him.

"He's not here," Corey answered grimly.

"What do you mean he's not here?" Brynna questioned him. "Where is my son?!"

"I don't know," Corey confessed and then he rushed to explain. "I came home from work and Sylvie wasn't here. She didn't leave a note and hasn't returned any of my calls or texts. She probably wanted to take Cody to the park one last time and lost track of time. She'll come back, I know it." Corey plopped down in a chair, his cell phone clutched in his hand.

Wyatt approached Corey. "If anything happens to our son..." he warned the younger man. Corey looked up at him anxiously and then at the door, wishing Sylvie would come back. One of the San Francisco officers was talking into their radio, alerting the rest of the police force of this latest development.

Less than a minute later, the apartment door did swing open and, like a dream, Sylvie walked in with Cody safely in her arms. The toddler squealed excitedly and held his arms out to his parents. Sylvie, on the other hand, paled, her eyes wide as she took in the strangers in her home. Realization dawning on her features. Then she turned and bolted back out of the apartment with Cody still in her arms.

Everybody sprang into action, chasing her down the hall, but Corey sprinted ahead of all of them, wanting to get to Sylvie first. He caught up to her just as she was stepping into the elevator. He hurried up and put his hand on the door frame, stopping the door from closing. Sylvie looked up startled and then relief washed over her features when she saw that it was him.

"Corey, hurry up and get in," she told him, switching Cody to her other hip. The little boy was starting to get upset after seeing his parents and being whisked away from them.

Corey looked at Cody and shook his head. "He's not ours," he said. "He never was."

"How can you say that?" Sylvie questioned him. "We love him just as much as we did before. He's our son."

"No, he's not," Corey shook his head again.

There was a rush of movement behind him as Wyatt, Brynna, and the police officers finally caught up to them. Sylvie took a startled step back, gripping Cody harder. "Step out of the elevator and hand over the child now!" the police ordered, they were done being nice.

"Sylvie..."

Sylvie turned her wide, tear-filled eyes back to Corey. "Please don't let them take another child away from me!" she begged him. "I can't go through this again. I just want my baby back."

"I know, but this isn't Hailey," Corey said. Hearing her name, Sylvie choked on a sob; it was the first time Corey had said their baby girl's name since she died. Corey reached out to her and when she didn't move, he pulled her to him. He whispered in her ear, "I promise you, we will get our family back, but this is not the way to get it."

They stayed that way until Cody started to squirm and whine. Corey pulled back and looked at his wife. "Are you ready?" he asked her. "I'll be with you the entire time."

Sylvie nodded and stepped off the elevator. The police shuffled forward, guns drawn. Corey held up his hand to keep them at bay; Sylvie was in a precarious state, anything could set her off again. He kept his hand on her back as they walked over to Brynna and Wyatt.

Sylvie opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. She closed it abruptly, a tear leaking down her face. Instead, she held Cody out to Brynna silently. Mother and son reached toward each other and Brynna hugged the toddler to her.

"Thank you," Brynna told her. Sylvie nodded mournfully, her arms feeling suddenly empty. She buried her face into Corey's shoulder, sobbing.

Brynna felt for the younger girl, she really did. She had obviously lost more than any mother should. But Brynna couldn't help the overwhelming joy of having her son back in her arms. Now that their family was back together, they could all begin to heal.

A/N: Three more chapters left. Please review!